The Volga River Basin originally had only the Torgut tribe, or to be precise, the Wasi tribe. After all, there were still a small number of other tribes from the Wasi tribe.
But in terms of the total number of people, it’s actually not that many. It’s still a vast area with few people.
After the army of the Ming Dynasty came over, they also moved some of the Kazakhs who had surrendered to enrich this forward position that would be used for the Western Expedition in the future.
But for the vast Volga River Basin and the nearby Eastern European plains, the number of people is still not enough.
The Cossacks only have 50,000 capable cavalry, even though they suffered heavy losses after the last war.
As the Cossacks migrated to the Volga River Basin, the population and military strength here, even if the army from Luntai in the Western Region had not yet arrived, was already a very powerful force.
Regarding this situation, Zhang Huangyan, the governor who held military and political power, was of course very happy. Especially when he saw that the Cossacks were indeed a natural source of cavalry soldiers and were very brave and good at fighting, he was even more happy.
Originally, he was planning to launch a war against Tsarist Russia, but was forced to postpone it.
Just the reorganization of 50,000 Cossacks who were suitable as soldiers would have to disrupt the original army structure. In addition, the proportion of Ming's own troops was too small, which was also a problem, and troops had to be transferred from Luntai.
There are also houses that the newly arrived Cossacks need to live in. Even if they are just rented to them, they still need to be built or allocated. There are many things. There is also the Cossacks' study of Chinese, especially their children's studies, and the Jinyi Guards and Supervisors.
The deployment requires reinforcements from the imperial court.
Anyway, due to the injection of fresh blood from the Cossack tribe, Zhang Huangyan was so busy that he had no time to trouble others.
However, if he doesn't bother others, others will be afraid of him with such a huge force piled here!
This fear is not limited to the Tsarist Empire. It also includes surrounding countries, such as the Crimean Khanate.
Originally, they had a cooperative relationship with the Cossacks, but in the last battle, because their coach died in the battle, they became angry with the Cossack leader Khmelnytsky and detained him, resulting in heavy casualties among the Cossacks.
There is a gap between the two sides, which cannot be filled so easily. Now that the Cossacks have such a big backer, it is hard to say whether they will cause trouble for the Crimean Khanate.
Worried, the Crimean Khanate finally reported the news to their overlord, the Ottoman Empire, emphasizing that the Ming Dynasty in the Volga River Basin was very powerful.
After all, the Cossacks have not led the Ming army to attack the Crimean Khanate. As a vassal state, they cannot just ask the suzerain state to send troops, right?
Then all the Crimean Khanate can do is emphasize the threat of the Ming Empire.
Don't worry, this statement is really valid.
This is not to say that the Ottoman Empire has great faith in the Crimean Khanate. It is that the Ottoman Empire has continuously learned news about the Ming Empire from other channels.
First, when the Ming Dynasty's army attacked the Strait of Malacca, the agent country there was destroyed by the Ming Dynasty. Some people fled back to report the situation.
At this time, the Ottoman Empire actually didn't care. After all, it was just a casual chess piece. It was too far away and would be destroyed if it was destroyed. It would have no impact.
But later, when Arabs and Persians doing business in Dhaka and Chittagong returned to the Middle East, they brought news of the Ming Empire.
It is said that the Ming Empire destroyed Dongwu's Toungoo Dynasty and went to war with the Mughal Empire. This made the Ottoman Empire finally turn its attention to the Far East and began to pay attention to the Ming Empire.
Later, the Ming Empire actually destroyed the powerful Mughal Empire. I heard that the princes from the Ming Empire would be enfeoffed to establish vassal states in these countries. The Ottoman Empire took this very seriously.
In the eyes of the Ottoman Empire, you may not say how powerful the Mughal Empire was. After all, the Mughal Empire and the Persian Empire had been fighting for Kandahar for so many years, and they had only won and lost each other. The Persian Empire was not the Ottoman Empire.
opponent.
However, no matter what, the Mughal Empire was a big country with a very large territory. Of course, it also had some strength.
Such a large country was conquered by the Ming Empire in just about a year, and the princes in the country were also enfeoffed here. So what will the Ming Empire do next? Will it continue to expand westward?
With the Persian Empire in the way, the Ottoman Empire is not in a hurry, but it is undeniable that the Ottoman Empire has finally divided their attention from Europe and is paying attention to the situation in the east.
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At this time, the Crimean Khanate reported that the Kazakhs had surrendered to the Ming Empire in the Volga River Basin, and the military strength of the Ming Empire in the Volga River Basin had also become very large.
This news made the Ottoman Empire realize that the Ming Empire might continue to advance westward. And they also realized that the Ming Empire was really powerful!
The military power that destroyed the Mughal Empire turned out to be only a part of the Ming Empire. Even the Ottoman Empire would not be able to do it if it just sent an army on an expedition.
Or to change the analogy, it would be impossible for the Ottoman Empire to send an army to destroy the Persian Empire, which was about the same strength as the Mughal Empire.
Under this consciousness, the Ottoman Empire began to send people to the east to truly investigate how powerful the Ming Empire was and what it wanted to do.
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Compared with the Ottoman Empire, the attitude of the Safavid Dynasty in Persia towards the Ming Empire was as if they were facing a formidable enemy!
At this time, the Shah of the Safi Dynasty, that is, the emperor was called Abbas II, and he was regarded as the leader of the revival of the Safi Dynasty.
He came to the throne when he was less than ten years old. At first, his mother, Anna Khanum, and her party members took over the throne. However, in 1645, Abbas II used thunderous means to arrest and assassinate the party members supported by his mother, taking back power and taking over the government.
Subsequently, the most successful thing he did was to personally lead an army of 50,000 to recapture Kandahar from the Mughal Empire Shah Jahan in 1649.
Basically, the Safi Dynasty at this time was about the same size as the Mughal Empire, and there was not much difference in national power.
However, what Abbas II never expected was that the Mughal Empire, with which he had frequent conflicts, would be almost destroyed by the Ming Empire that came from afar in just one year.
Of course, because he was close, he knew some inside information better than the Ottoman Empire.
For example, there was civil strife in the Mughal Empire, three princes fought for the throne, and Shah Jahan was killed by them. All these naturally weakened the strength of the Mughal Empire.
However, Abbas II also knew very well that even if the Mughal Empire was in civil strife, if he led the Persian army to attack the Mughal Empire, it would be impossible to destroy the Mughal Empire.
However, the Ming Empire did it.
To be honest, after learning the news, Abbas II was not in the mood to rejoice at all. After all, who could sleep peacefully if it were a more powerful neighbor?
However, he still had some luck, thinking that the Mughal Empire overestimated its capabilities and attacked Dongwu first, which angered the Ming Empire and caused such disasters.
Therefore, when Darashuk, the eldest prince of the Mughal Empire, went to Persia to ask for reinforcements and troops, Abbas II directly placed him under house arrest. The remaining troops under his command were naturally disarmed.
His most trusted prime minister, Khalifa Sultan, also agreed with his approach. Such a powerful country must not be offended if it is not impossible!
However, their attitude changed as time went by and they received more and more news.
It was not because of other news, but Abbas II heard that the Ming Empire had enfeoffed their princes to the Mughal Empire. Moreover, the elite Ming army that had annihilated the Mughal Empire army did not withdraw back to the country.
This worried Abbas 20, and his prime minister, Khalifa Sultan, also reminded him to beware of the Ming Empire's coveting of Persia. Even if they thought it was unlikely, they still had to be on guard.
Their fears finally came true after the Dutch retreated to the Persian side.
At the time of Abbas I, the father of Abbas II's grandfather, Persia had contact with the British and hired the British as instructors to reform the Persian military system; by the time of Abbas II,
The Dutch came from behind and signed a silk trade agreement with Abbas II. The relationship between the two parties was very good.
Therefore, Abbas II still believed in the Dutch.
Of course, the Dutch would not say good things about the Ming Empire. From the moment the Ming Empire captured the city of Jelandja, which belonged to the Netherlands, they started to talk about how the Ming Empire was expanding crazily. It not only captured the entire Southeast Asia, but also expanded all the way to the west.
One country after another was wiped out, and the latest country was the Mughal Empire.
As for why the Ming Empire destroyed so many countries and expanded so fiercely, the Dutch also gave an answer, saying that the Ming Emperor was frantically seizing all the domestic vassals to newly occupied places.
The Dutch swore to Abbas II that the Ming Empire would definitely send troops to attack Persia, destroy the Safavid dynasty, and then continue to enfeoff their vassal kings.
These words said by the Dutch were all supported by factual evidence, which made Abbas II's face change greatly.
If it is just to give money or even cede some territory, such as Kandahar, maybe Abbas II will succumb to the powerful military power of the Ming Empire, and he may accept it. Let Abbas II surrender to the Ming Empire
Surrendering and giving up his country must be impossible.
Therefore, Abbas II's attitude towards the Ming Empire has completely changed!